Microsoft and the city of New York have inked a licensing deal that will consolidate its various licenses into one and provide city officials with access to Microsoft’s cloud-computing features.
New York previously had 40 different licenses for Microsoft products across several different agencies. The Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) will consolidate that into a single license that will reach about 100,000 city workers and is expected to save approximately $50 million over five years.
About 30,000 of those employees, meanwhile, will have access to Microsoft cloud services. That will allow developers to create city-specific applications that can be used across the board, as well as provide employees with access to Internet-based Office products that will facilitate real-time editing and syncing.
On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled Office 365, a solution that integrates Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, and Lync Online in an always up-to-date cloud service.
The DoITT will designate three levels of software use: those who need occasional access to specific tools; regular use of Microsoft’s basic programs; and power users who will have access to the company’s full suite of products.
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“To deliver services efficiently and function at the highest level, city employees need the same technological resources that top private sector businesses provide to their employees,” Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement. “Through our partnership with Microsoft, we’ve found ways to offer our employees Microsoft’s newest, state-of-the-art computing tools while reducing costs to taxpayers. By capitalizing on the City’s buying power, consolidating dozens of separate City agency license agreements into a single one, and paying for software based on use, we’ll save $50 million over the next five years.”
“With Microsoft’s latest cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools, New York City employees will benefit from having better access to information, improved collaboration and information sharing among city agencies,” Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer said in a statement. “Additionally, this comprehensive partnership provides the latest in operating system, server and development tools laying a foundation for greater innovation and infrastructure modernization.”
The announcement is part of a broader effort to streamline city operations, known as SimpliCity. Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith is spearheading the project, which aims to make the city more efficient, electronic, and effective.
DoITT’s Citywide IT Infrastructure Services program (CITISERV), meanwhile, is also working on consolidating New York’s more than 50 separate agency data centers into a centrally managed, state-of-the-art facility.